Survival of Reika - OC
by AvaniFox
Summary: Mika Mori, known as Reika in the now infamous game, Sword Art Online, recaps what her experience was through the unforgiving death game. As she fights between life and death, Reika shows the bright side of the beautiful but deadly world of Aincrad. Encountering hidden quests, taming magical beasts, and devouring delicious food, a whole new adventure is waiting for you to join.
1. Chapter 1 - The Abandoned Guild

Survival of Reika

Chapter One – The Abandoned Guild

When SAO first launched its beta test, I was more than ecstatic to get in line. Along with one-thousand other people, I had the luck to get my hands on the closed beta of Sword Art Online. This was my first VRMMORPG, since my mother had finally told me I was old enough to play on my thirteenth birthday. I'd taken an interest in VRMMORPGs long before that, but due to my dream to become an artist my mom told me I'd waste time on those games too much. I had always disagreed, but I knew that my mother wanted me to have a successful life, so I avoided the virtual world until I proved myself that I could still account for school and have fun in an entirely different world.

The beta test to say the least, was difficult. Everyone had difficulty trying to level up, and a lot of players hadn't thought to make guilds. I was one of the few people to be a guild leader, and my guild composed of me and five other people. When we had made it to the fifth floor, however, we encountered the floor boss by mistake. We were trying to level up the lower levels of our guild, but had stumbled across the giant door we knew was the entrance to the labyrinth. My members were excited to have found it, as all the other beta testers were searching desperately, so we decided to look and bring back information.

The fifth floor was known as the Desert of Holes. Of course, the floor was mostly a barren wasteland, and wandering could be dangerous. Getting lost was easy, so teleport crystals were a requirement for anyone wanting to wander off from the paths to the towns. We hadn't thought about why else it was called the Desert of Holes until we'd reached the boss and had stupidly ran into the room when the door had opened. We wanted to get information on its attacks, but we had no intention of defeating it with only six players.

The boss was called Deserter of the Wanderers. When we had ran into the black room, we didn't expect to drop right when we stepped in. Unfortunately, we figured out quickly enough why the floor was called "Desert of Holes" then and there. We had fallen into a hole, and when we looked up we knew there was no chance in climbing up, as the entire dungeon was made of sculpted sand. We thought to use our crystals, but getting information about the newest boss would have gotten us a lot of money.

Needless to say, the boss was a scorpion. It shadowed itself in it's labyrinth of sand tunnels while we huddled into a circle waiting for it to attack. And boy, did it attack.

All of us were defeated in a number of seconds, and due to our deaths, my guild members had left to find guilds that were more plentiful in numbers than mine. So I was alone, and the beta test became a solo test for me.


	2. Chapter 2 - Link Start

Survival of Reika

Chapter Two – Link Start

The beta testers had made it to the tenth floor. Finally, the beta test ended a month later on September 22, 2022, and almost three quarters of us pre-ordered the official release of Sword Art Online. Ten thousand players purchased the game, and all logged on the first day of its release. In the beta, I had used an avatar that looked nothing like myself: I made her have incredibly long, green hair and yellow eyes, and her armour composed of white and black clothes. I'd carried a silver small sword, which was popular amongst players.

I'd told my mom I'd be back in time for supper, because today my dad would have been home from his job and was going to be home at that time. I hadn't seen him in over a year, and I wanted to tell him all about school and my art progress. But on November 6, 2022 I had rested myself on my bed, put on the NerveGear, and closed my eyes.

"Link start!" I said.

Touch – OK

Sight – OK

Hearing – OK

Taste – OK

Smell - OK

Language: English

Username: ReikaMM

Password: **********

Character registration: Use beta-test data?

Reika

Yes No

**Welcome to Sword Art Online!**

The familiar blue flash showed in front of my eyes as I logged in, and I blinked. I looked around as I saw dozens of other players appear with a flash, some seeming familiar to the login and area who simply walked away from the centre, some people looking at their avatars and their surroundings.

I began to walk away when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and I met the face of a boy with red eyes and black hair. He looked excited, his eyes were bright and big and he was shaking slightly. I glanced near his shoulder and his health bar appeared, with the name "Atlas" scrawled there. I saw the little icon next to his name, showing he was in a guild already.

"Can I help you?" I asked. I wanted to go as quickly as I could to the next town, since the vast majority of new players would be using the Town of Beginnings as their resource until they realize how quickly it will run out with so many players.

"I was wondering if you wanted to join my guild," he said with a smile. I blinked at him.

At first I thought it was a good idea, but I pondered for a few moments before I answered, "No thank you," smiled a quick smile, and ran off. I didn't want to go back in a guild this early. It would probably end up like my past guild, which would cause me to fall behind again. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Death Game

Survival of Reika

Chapter Three – The Death Game

When I had first seen the huge building where the Room of Resurrection was, it didn't occur to me of the significant difference of purpose. I didn't look inside, but I had noticed the plaque had changed on the front to the "Monument of Life." I continued my way to the second town over, and on my way I killed various monsters and got to level three. In the beta, I had wanted a familiar, but I didn't use my skill slots to become one. So, this time, I decided to use one of my skill slots for searching, and my other one for familiar communication. Slots were slowly obtained as you leveled up, but I had only reached level eight at the end of the beta test.

I wasn't a part of the front lines in the beta, but I did help with some of the boss raids. I wanted to get to know the areas around Aincrad for when the release came, so I could level up faster and know where the good quests were. I didn't do many, but I got a few nice items for the ones that I did do. A pair of combat boots I prized in after completing one helped with my stamina and speed by a little, and I received a shield from another that I sold for some good money.

When I had finally reached the town over, I was force-teleported back to the Town of Beginnings. Needless to say, I was confused and a little angry that I had traveled all that way. Everyone began appearing, some of them just as confused as me. Others were chattering up a storm thinking it was some kind of bug or an event. I waited, and finally the blue flashes of light stopped, and all ten thousand players stood in the center of Aincrad.

Suddenly, the sky became red, and a huge figure emerged. His face was black, and his avatar wore a red and yellow cloak. He floated there, and he raised his arms.

"Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I'm sure you all have already noticed that the log out button is missing from the main menu," he said.

I blinked. I whisked my hand downward in front of me, and clicked main menu. Like he said, the toolbar for the logout was there; but the logout button was gone.

"But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect in the game. It's a feature of Sword Art Online, you cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And nobody on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. If this is attempted, the transmitter will emit a microwave that will destroy your brain and end your life."

_What?_ I thought. I felt a shiver of panic rise in my chest, and my heart was beating fast. I was beginning to shake, and the players around me were beginning to crumble from the anxiety. Some players tried to leave, but an invisible barrier blocked them from leaving the square. Other players were in doubt, and angry about the situation.

"Unfortunately," Kayaba continued. "Several players' friends and families have ignored this warning. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world.

My mouth dropped. Two hundred and thirteen players in a matter of a few hours. I hoped my parents would obey the warnings and leave my body safely in my bed, connected to the one thing that will keep me alive, if only I stay alive in this world.

"There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost, and simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain. Defeat the final boss on floor one hundred and you will clear the game."

_All one hundred floor? _I cried inside. In one month we had only reached the tenth floor, and that was with the revival system. If we lose too many players now…

"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please, have a look," Kayaba added.

I whisked my hand downward in front of me again, and looked in my storage. One item was added.

"A mirror?" I said, and pressed it. A small mirror appeared in my hand, and I saw myself in it. All of a sudden, everyone began to be succumbed inside the blue flashes, and I was blinded by the light.

When the light faded, I looked around. I didn't notice anything different, but then I looked in the mirror again and I saw myself. My _real _self. The green hair and yellow eyes were gone, and they were changed to my actual brown hair and brown eyes. My armour remained the same black and white looked, but even my height and weight were different now.

"My goal has already been achieved," Kayaba spoke again. "I created Sword Art Online for one reason… To create this world and intervene in it. And now it is complete. This is the end of the tutorial. Good luck, players."

Kayaba's avatar became distorted, and then he disappeared, the sky returning to normal. Silence was found all over the square, and all at once it went from silent horror, to screaming pleas of help. I stood in silence as the crowd pushed past me, and when I finally came back to this reality, I ran.


	4. Chapter 4 - First Boss

Survival of Reika

Chapter Four – First Boss

I didn't participate in the very first boss raid in the beta, but I decided to get the guidebook made by us beta testers when I realized I could die from one underestimated attack. I wanted to be a part of the group that was forcing their way onwards, who strived to clear the game. A lot of players were succumbed to insanity and grief, the players that knew they couldn't survive if they fought in the front lines. I wasn't one of those people.

Even though we've been in the game for a little over a month, the boss was finally found by a party. A meeting was held by a player named Diavel, who was the one whose party discovered the boss. A second strategy meeting was made, and a good raid party was formed. We were put into group parties, to ensure organization among the ranks and have consistent attacks and defences against the boss.

When one of the players stepped forward and accused beta testers of being cheaters, I was stunned. He blamed us for the deaths that have happened so far, and demanded us to step forward to apologize for our selfishness. I was going to stand to defend myself, but a large player raised his hand in the crowd. He came up to the front and faced the accusing player, and showed the guidebook I had received.

The player lost that argument after the defending player explained the book was made by beta testers, and the crowd calmed down as Diavel continued to discuss strategy. I was partied up with six other players, Squad A.

The next day was the boss raid.

Just like the guidebook had told us, the first boss was called Illfang the Kobold Lord. His minions were called Ruin Kobold Sentinels, and as we took off more health from the boss, more would spawn. My party and squad C were told to go right against Illfang, and do as much damage as possible while the rest of the squads blocked his attacks and kept the minions busy.

But when Illfang's final health bar went red, he threw his weapon and shield down. Instead of following the strategy plan to surround him, Diavel rushed forward and prepared an attack. Illfang revealed his new weapon, and I watched in horror as I heard a shout from within the crowd to run, but it was far too late. The combo threw Diavel back, and we were left to face the boss without our commander. A player rushed toward Diavel, and knelt down next to him, but my attention was turned away from Diavel and the player as we defended ourselves from Illfang's next attack.

We made little progress, and I glanced back to only see Diavel glow brightly and explode into crystal pixels. Everything stopped, and time slowed, but Illfang wasn't fazed by what he had done; how could he, being an NPC. The player that had gone to Diavel looked at the pixels float and disappear, and he looked at our group, completely helpless without our orders.

I turned toward Illfang, and then the player that had been with Diavel rushed past me with another player in a cloak, and I watched in surprise. Their technique was perfect, and I saw Illfang's health bar slowly begin to decrease as only two players went up against him. Their performance was almost flawless, but the black haired player was hit, and the now uncloaked player, obviously female, was knocked back with him.

In a split second, the black player that had defended the beta testers at the meeting ran forward and knocked Illfang back before he could land a likely kill on the two players. I ran forward with the group, which was now a big huddle and not separated by parties. We all landed attacks and blocks on Illfang, and then the black haired player came back into view, and knocked the boss away from us. He and his partner landed every attack I could think of, and the black haired player landed the final attack.

I watched as the boss glowed brightly, and exploded in a colourful burst of crystals. Silence was found in the boss room, and then…

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

It was a happy riot. Everyone celebrated, everyone cheered. But suddenly, a voice erupted from the crowd. It was the same player that had boldly accused beta testers at the meeting of all the deaths. He began his argument again, but this time it was targeted toward the player who had defeated the boss. The black haired player showed no emotion as he was accused, but then he laughed. His laugh echoed the room, and everyone watched as he stood up.

I was wary of that player after his speech, who selfishly claimed he was the best of the beta testers. I didn't recognize him from the beta, but then again I played in isolation after my guild was disbanded. I looked at his user bar, and the name "Kirito" displayed there. His health was yellow, but it was slowly healing. Everyone left the boss room after Kirito's dramatic exit, revealing the last attack bonus drop he'd received.

I decided to only be on the front lines when I seemed it was needed. Being a solo player doesn't get you far in the game, and I knew that I could only help for so long before I was no longer necessary. I refused to be solo forever, but joining a guild would likely end in a tragic loss for when more and more players were killed off by this unforgiving game.


	5. Chapter 5 - Unrecognized Revenge

Survival of Reika

Chapter Five – Unrecognized Revenge

When the fifth floor was unlocked, I realized I wanted to get my hands on the boss. Consider it naïve to hold a grudge like that, but I wanted to continue my life knowing I could defeat what I couldn't before or die trying. That was when I made my guild, and in a short amount of time I gathered twelve members, including myself. We decided to name our guild The Twelve Olympians, and we dressed in black attire with red trim. Uniforms weren't a necessity of guilds, but I wanted mine to become known when we took down the fifth boss.

My second in command was a wary dark-skinned male named Rolen, and his cooking skill was the highest in the guild. He also knew a lot of medicinal recipes, and had a handful of ingredients none of us could use yet. A few other members were Lionel, a pink-haired, green eyed boy who was younger than me, but he equipped a mace and had a nice attack level, and Calisto, an aggressive girl with cat ears and shanks connected to her knuckles like claws. Most of my guild members were determined to fight to the end, but one girl worried me…

Her name was Helena, and she was only eleven. Caught in this murderous game, she lost hope the day the game had begun. She was fierce, but reckless. If she lost her temper she'd fight without thinking and ignore the guild's instructions. I kept her with us figuring having her in a guild that understood her attitude would keep her alive. I was wrong.

I led my guild to where the boss room was, because its location hadn't moved since the closed beta. This time, we didn't rush in without looking. Even the room hadn't changed; it was covered in hardened sand, with dozens of huge holes sprawled everywhere. The hole my past guild had fallen into lay right in front of my feet, but instead of falling it, we planned to stay on top of the sand this time and avoid falling into holes.

"What kind of attack patterns does this boss have, Reika?" Calisto asked. She flanked my right side, and Rolen was on my left. I unsheathed my sword, and everyone else followed. Some drank different coloured potions; some for stamina, others for strength. As we passed the hole my old guild fell into, the large dungeon door shut, and the room was lit by a hole in the top of the dungeon, where the sun sat perfectly aligned in to give the scorching heat its purpose. A drop of sweat already ran its way down the side of my face, and I opened my mouth to breathe through the humid air.

I looked around suspiciously. I didn't see any movement, and I opened my mouth to reply, but then a rumbled shook then entire dungeon, and the sand beneath our feet collapsed. All of us let out bursts of screams and shock, and we all slid helplessly into the darkness my past self knew all too well. When we hit the bottom, we quickly shook ourselves up and formed ranks. Rolen, Calisto, and several others including myself stood the outer shell, five others took the middle, and our weakest member, Rachel, a hammer-wielding girl, stood alone in the center.

"Be careful," I warned. "It's a scorpion-type boss, and its body is too rough to hit on its torso or head without sword skills; you have to hit its tail, feet, or stomach if your sword skills aren't effective yet."

Rolen stood next to me, examining the blackness around him. My eyes adjusted fast to the blackness, and I saw holes all around, twisting into tunnels and leading straight towards us. For a moment we heard nothing, but then someone on the opposite side of our circle, yelled, "There!"

It lunged right at us, and we dodged its attack in a hurry. Our ranks broke immediately, and we all stood in a scattered group, now facing the scorpion. It was purple, and had yellow trimming all around, and its eyes were orange like the sun.

Looking back now, the boss was very easy. But when we had fought it alone with only twelve players, it became a challenge that tested every point we had used in our skills. Prior planning probably saved us that day, since the rank circle had failed quickly. I had put people in pairs of three; the plan was each group would have two people attack, then if the scorpion unleashed an attack at the group, the third member would switch in and block. The process was repeated over and over, and finally we had gotten the scorpion down to the last bar and into the red.

It backed away from us and shuddered. Suddenly, the tail sprung forward above and in front of its head, and it rippled. The skin stripped into two joints, and the one tail became two; each with their own stinger. It swung wildly, using combos. It knocked me back once, but my group defended and pushed it away from our squad.

I quickly drank a health potion, and my health went just into the green again. Finally, the boss was on its last piece of health, and I ran forward. Everyone stared, but I didn't care. This was my own revenge that nobody here would ever understand. I swung my sword behind my shoulder, and it glowed red. I slashed its head hard, and it collapsed. It curled in on itself and screamed, and then it glowed and burst unceremoniously into a thousand pixels.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Beast Tamer

Survival of Reika

Chapter Six – The Beast Tamer

There was little cheer the farther all of the players moved upwards. Bosses became harder each level as they were meant to be in games; difference was this wasn't a game. Not anymore. But the farther we progressed upwards, the more people we needed and the more people we seemed to lose. Some bosses we left a handful of precious players behind and moved onwards, their bodies gone. Other times we were lucky and lost nobody.

My guild was one of the lucky ones. We didn't lose a single member until one time, but that is far beyond where this story is at right now. The main issue with this story right now is: stronger bosses, decreasing players. Plenty of players were too scared to level up, and stayed in the Town of Beginnings and the safe zone. My guild had finally decided it was time for us to finally gather all of our resources we could get from our special skills, so we all departed for a few weeks in order to gather what we needed, and hoped everyone would show up again when we met.

I had been wandering on one of the lower floors. I was trying to find a certain species similar to that of a fox. Aincrad offered few monsters that were able to be tamed, and since I had focused more on raising abilities that helped me tame monsters, I finally figured for the opening of the twentieth floor I'd show up with one of my own tamed beasts.

Beast Tamers were usually admired by other players, but many felt a strong jealousy towards them. If your skills weren't high enough for the beast you were looking to tame, you'd fail. There were a few requirements to get a monster interested in you. First, you needed to refrain from killing a lot of its kind, and then if it took an interest in you, you'd have to have the skill to tame it and its favourite food. The guidebook had little on Beast Taming, so a lot of players figured that taming beasts would take too much time and effort.

I had done some research on the species, and I knew when I had gone searching for it its favourite food was rotten meat. Gross to hold on to, but probably worth it in the end. These monsters were called Webbed Marsh Fox. It was able to live on land and in the water, and thankfully my guild hadn't ran into any of them on this floor. They were only hostile when threatened, so I walked around a large pond that seemed to glimmer the air around it, and there were foxes by the dozing. In the water, basking on the rocks, and partially into the forest. I walked around, looking at them. None of them seemed to notice me, except one.

He was beautiful. His gray fur was damp from swimming, and he was standing at the edge of the water, observing me with a certain curiosity. His ears were slanted backwards in wariness, but his eyes held the childish questioning look that foxes normally have. He had sleek, gray fur, and his eyes were a soft yellow. His webbed feet gave off a slight blue glow, and each step he took left a faint blue radiance on the ground. His tail flicked behind him, the tip of it was white, as was his belly. His face was masked like a raccoon's, with a darker gray. I noticed on his ears that small branch-like furs stuck out, and I recognized them as gills. I kneeled down and scrolled my hand downwards in front of me, revealing my item storage.

The fox's ears lifted, and he took a step towards me. I clicked on my stored rotten meat, and it appeared in my hand. I held it out forward, and the fox's nose twitched slightly. He took his steps slowly, and it took minutes of utter silence and no movement for him to finally meet my hand with his mouth. He sniffed the meat, then ate it quickly, and he licked his lips.

A box appeared in front of me, which stated:

**New Tamed Beast: Male Webbed Marsh Fox**

Name:

I had decided to name him Lazarus. He only had small healing abilities, but he also could give me the ability to have a temporary swimming boost. When I had finished naming him, a small icon appeared next to him listed his name and his health bar. I walked away and looked back and Lazarus had appeared right next to my said, looking up at me expectantly.

Even though he was an NPC, I already felt a strong attachment towards him. I wasn't sure if that was the actual system and that was how the taming worked, or if it was just my loving nature towards animals. Either way, I did feel a little guilt as I slowly walked away from Lazarus' spawn area, and slowly, the forest engulfed us, and our journey together had just begun.


End file.
